Beauty Envy: We've All Got a Little

A coworker recently walked into my office with a fresh spray tan (it was for an assignment, of course). Always pretty, she was now bronzed and uber-glowy…and I was jealous. My beauty envy was so strong, I actually had to resist picking up the phone in the middle of our conversation and calling to schedule an appointment. Don't get me wrong, I'm an avid spray tan-ee (I get them just about monthly, usually for a special occasion), but the second I'm in my normal skin tone and see someone else basking in the light of one, I want to get sprayed ASAP. Turns out, I'm not the only one with a specific beauty obsession. Deputy editor/beauty director Amy Keller Laird—who has long, wavy hair—says it's a pixie cut for her: "If I spot a girl with an edgy pixie or cropped haircut, it makes me want to chop my hair off. I get the itch big-time." Hair apparently causes a bunch of beauty-editor jelly: "Blowouts, definitely," confesses editorial assistant Sophia Panych. "When I see someone with thick hair that looks beautiful and bouncy, I always get a pang of jealousy. My hair will never look like that unless I sew in layers of extensions!" For others, the envy is less about someone else's particular look and more about her talent. "When I see someone with perfect liquid eyeliner, I get jealous of her skills," says assistant editor Kayleigh Donahue.